Balancing Act
by Winnywriter
Summary: RiverxEleven Every time they meet it's as if they're beginning to balance out, approaching that one perfect day when the planets will align and they'll meet in the middle, each of them knowing the other just as well as they should. Oneshot


**I don't quite know what it is about this pairing that fascinates me so much...Maybe it's because I love to see the Doctor flustered. Maybe I just like a tragic love story. Maybe it's because the idea of them flirting is adorable. XD I don't know, but whatever the reason, it's pulled another oneshot from my brain...First time writing for this pairing, so please share your thoughts! ^^**

**Oh, one other thing. I'm sure I'm not the only one, but River's timeline always leaves me feeling hopelessly confused...I did my best to keep it straight, but if there are any continuity errors I apologize. This would be set somewhere after Day of the Moon, but before A Good Man Goes to War.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or any of the characters involved. **

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><p>As the Doctor stares up into those eerily vibrant grey-blue eyes of hers, he can't help but feel this is just a tad bit familiar.<p>

It only takes a moment for her trademark grin to appear, curls of golden hair brushing against his chest. "Hello, Sweetie," she croons, and he offers a lopsided smile.

"We can't keep meeting like this," he sputters, having had the wind knocked out of him a bit from being thrown onto the metal floor. Her teeth sparkle in the light of the ship's engine.

"I don't know…I'm not really complaining…" He quirks an eyebrow and fights back a blush as he gently pushes her off of him, hauling himself off of the floor and closing the doors of the TARDIS behind them.

"I guess I'll have to repeat myself," he says as she straightens her dress and fixes her hair. "I won't always be here to catch you." She merely chuckles.

"And yet here you are." She struts away from him, circling the engine of the TARDIS, inspecting it, running her hands over the controls. If it were anyone else, the action might have made him nervous, but it's not. It's River. She makes him nervous for a whole different set of reasons.

"Where are your trusted sidekicks?" she asks off-handedly. He straightens his bow-tie and puts his hands in his pockets.

"Visiting the family. I thought after the whole end of the universe thing, they might want a little time to…relax."

She puts a finger to her lips. "Spoilers, Doctor."

"Right," he corrects, and he shuts his eyes in concentration. Time is a tricky thing, indeed. "Right…"

"So…I guess it's just the two of us then?" she asks, smirking.

"I suppose…" He hopes she doesn't see him swallow back the lump in his throat. Her smirk grows, leading him to believe that she has.

"Which reminds me…" She reaches into her bag and pulls out that little blue book of hers, flipping through the pages as she takes a few steps toward him. "Where are we?"

"Ah…right…" He rushes over to the TARDIS console and rummages around for a moment or two, finding his very own journal and sitting in the jumpseat. She joins him, sitting close, he notices. Quite close.

"Have we done the giant scarabs yet?" she asks.

"Um…I'm not sure…" he replies, looking through the pages of his book. She hums thoughtfully.

"That's a no. You'd remember the giant scarabs…What about the mermaids of Atlantis? You'd _definitely_ remember them…"

"Yes! I do have that one," he announces triumphantly. He squints. "Although the memory's not as clear as you'd think." River chuckles knowingly.

"Well maybe that's understandable. I mean you were rather drunk for most of that one…" He clears his throat.

"The slime monsters of Sigma Seven?" he asks, rather keen to move off of that subject.

"Ugh…not one of my favorites…Took me days to get all that out of this hair…" He can't help but grin a bit at that, remembering the way her normally curly hair had been stuck out in every direction. Then again, he doubts he looked any better.

"What about the cyborg kittens?" she asks, and he chortles at her.

"Cyborg kittens? You're making that one up!" She laughs.

"I guess that's a 'no,' then."

"No, that's a 'never going to happen,' to be more specific. In what possible scenario would we ever have to fight _cyborg_ _kittens?_"

"Who said we were fighting them?" she scoffs.

"Well then what-" She puts a finger against his lips to silence him, causing his eyes to cross rather comically.

"Spoilers," she enunciates, leaning very close. He rolls his eyes, and she chuckles.

A few minutes later, as the atmosphere begins to become a bit more relaxed, she snaps her book shut and stands, looking up at the thrumming engine of the TARDIS. "And how are you doing, sexy?" she asks light-heartedly. The Doctor nearly drops his journal.

"Uh…fine? I guess…" River lets out a loud and hearty laugh, catching him off-guard, and his face flushes in realization. "Oh…you were talking to…" She nods. "Right…"

"Well, no need to get jealous, Sweetie." She cocks an eyebrow in his direction, eyes sweeping up and down his body. "You're not looking too bad yourself." He clears his throat. If his face had not been dangerously red already, it certainly is now.

"I, uh…suppose you have somewhere you're needing to be then?" he asks, reaching for the controls. "People to see, trouble to cause, and all that?"

"So eager to get rid of me, are you?" She leans next to him, and he turns to look at her.

"No. I just…er…" When he hazards another glance at her, she smirking again. Widely. And suddenly she has a hand on his cheek. His eyes dart from her hand to her face and back again.

"Mmm…" she hums. "You're adorable when you're flustered…" He straightens up suddenly, reflexively. She moves with him, as if glued to him, her hand moving from his cheek to his shoulder. He stares at her with wide eyes as she begins to move closer, her body pressing against his, the gap between them becoming smaller with each passing moment. His hearts are pounding.

Despite the fact that he's seen it coming, when her lips cover his, he almost staggers backwards. He would, if not for River's grip on his lapel. And still, he can't help but think about how this is not their first kiss, and probably not their last either, if the things she's said to him on several occasions leading up to this moment are even half-true.

Surprisingly - or perhaps not so surprisingly - he finds himself believing that they are.

One of his hands rests on the TARDIS console, the other awkwardly groping at the thin air around him. And despite the fact that his mind is anything but clear at the moment, he is barely aware of the fact that she's reaching up to grasp his roaming hand with hers, moving it instead to her hip. He's surprised by how perfectly his fingers seem to fit in the indent of her waist. She pulls back, and that's when he first realizes he's breathing quickly.

"This isn't the first time we've kissed, is it?" she asks, her voice tinged with worry when he would have expected it to have that ever-present joking edge to it.

"No…" he manages to choke out. He thinks he sees her let out a sigh of relief, but then decides he probably imagined it. She begins to lean toward him again, but this time he stops her.

"Are you not enjoying yourself, Doctor?" she asks with a grin.

"No…I mean yes. I mean…it's very…nice." He pauses a moment, gathering his somewhat muddled thoughts. "I just wanted to know what brought this on…" Her smile grows considerably, her voice dropping down to a near whisper. Again, her hand is on his cheek, and he realizes that his has never left her hip.

"Now Doctor…aren't you the one who always says not to ask stupid questions?" She presses her lips to his once more before he has a chance to speak again. His other hand lifts off of the TARDIS console and plants itself, quite boldly, on her cheek, fingers molding themselves to the shape of her jaw, and she smiles against his lips.

He realizes that at some point, he's let his eyes slide closed, and he feels the most foreign of sensations. It's floaty and fluffy and foggy, completely unbecoming of a Time Lord, he thinks, but not exactly unpleasant. Suddenly he feels a surge forward, and before he knows which way is up, her arms wrap around his neck, pulling him even closer to her, if that's even possible. Though he's not sure exactly where it comes from, he takes it as a cue to bring his one hand down to join its mate on her waist.

There's something odd about the way she makes him feel. He doesn't know her as well as he should. He shouldn't trust her, but he does. He shouldn't flirt with her, but it just seems to happen on its own, without him even trying. And he _certainly_ shouldn't be kissing her like this, but that's not exactly stopping him. They always get everything backwards, she knowing everything there is to know about him when he could barely remember her name. Every time they meet it's as if they're beginning to balance out, approaching that one perfect day when the planets will align and they'll meet in the middle, each of them knowing the other just as well as they should. He doesn't quite know if he should look forward to that day or be anxious about it.

But at the moment, that's not what he's thinking about.

As her tongue darts past his teeth, he sighs, a sound that makes him seem almost…impressed by the action. He's sure she would smirk if her lips weren't caught up in other business. His hands are running up and down her back of their own accord, and suddenly he realizes that this is something he's missed. Not the feeling of her lips against his, their mouths melded together (though he has to admit that's quite nice too…), but just the feeling of being so very close to someone. After being alone so long, and after losing so many people, it's not something he ever thought he could really let himself feel and enjoy again. And yet, here he is. Here _they_ are, doing just that.

He pulls away, not entirely sure why until his mind begins to function just a tad more clearly and he realizes how quickly and heavily they're both breathing.

"River…" he says warningly, almost a growl. He sees an expression tugging on her lips that has the potential to grow into a smirk, but for some reason known only to her, she holds it back. They're still locked together, his hands on her hips and her arms around his neck, her fingers tangled in his hair. When did that happen, he wonders?

"Something wrong, my dear?" she asks in her sweetest voice.

"Where…is this coming from?" His eyes are intense. He's staring her down, seriousness mingling with curiosity in his gaze.

"Where does it ever come from?" she replies, eyelids drooping, hand returning to his cheek once more, thumb stroking against his jaw line. "Somewhere inside…_deep _inside." He continues to survey her with that look on his face as her other hand meanders downward over his shoulder, slipping under his overcoat and grasping one of his suspenders. In a flash, his fingers are wrapped tightly around her wrist, halting her actions.

"Who are you?" he asks. She scoffs.

"An odd question to ask after a snog, don't you think?" His jaw remains set.

"I meant-"

"I know what you meant." She smiles knowingly. "And you already know, don't you?" His eyes soften a bit, but he still looks pensive. The hand that has been toying with his suspenders rests on his chest.

"I never really know with you, do I?" he challenges, raising one eyebrow. She smiles as she sees him beginning to unwind.

"I guess you don't."

"You could tell me…"

"I could, but-"

"I know, I know…" He leans a bit closer to her, and they say in unison: "Spoilers."

"That catchphrase is getting tiresome, you know," he quips after a moment. She feels his breath on her lips and shivers.

"Oh, you love it…" she sighs, smiling widely and unabashedly.

"Maybe I do…" he relents. "But I keep getting this feeling that I really shouldn't." They both know that he's not talking about her words. She merely smiles, albeit a bit wanly.

"But you _do_," she insists, her voice no more than a whisper. And suddenly words have lost all meaning and significance, and are replaced by kisses once more. He's flustered and confused and anxious and excited all at once, and about a thousand other emotions as well that yet remain unnamed, but he has to admit that, once again, she's proven herself very right indeed.


End file.
